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Other than the friendly at Southend we haven't performed. I know we can say 'it's only pre season, these results don't matter, it's all about getting fitness' but I'm feeling very underwhelmed, we already seem heavily reliant on Payet taking the Premier league by storm, let's hope he does, but surely at some point some of the rest of the team need to buck their ideas up, we have been playing competitive games in the Europa League qualifiers alongside the normal schedule of friendly games and in my opinion we've been poor. I think at the back we'll be ok, we've got reinforcements there but midfield and up front isn't performing, we've had glimpses of Payet and Samuelson, the rest have been the same old same old, if anything it just highlights that we still need to spend a shed load of money even after getting in 6 or 7 players, I can't believe that when the first game of the season starts it's going to be like flicking a switch and everybody suddenly starts performing, surely at some point we need to see a good pre season or Europa League performance from the team that will erase the shambles that was the second half of last season!
Cant get my head around the
Cant get my head around the fact that they are moaning how Europa is congesting our fixture list and yet they fix up more friendlies. Baffled as to why half the expected first team is playing in Europa and the other half is playing friendlies. So we wait for the Arsenal game to find out if the two halves can play together do we? I know pre season is no yardstick to the season coming, but generally you get some idea of what is lying ahead. So far I see no planning or preparation, in fact it seem's more like a suck it and hope for the best.
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Completely agree, I know it's
Completely agree, I know it's all about getting players fit but at some point we have to pick our first 11 and get them used to playing whatever system he wants to play, and get them used to playing together, we're giving players like Nolan, Noble, Jarvis more time on the pitch than most others, surely they won't be the core of the side!
agree , we need to see the
agree , we need to see the strongest 11 playing together very soon or it will be half way through sept before they gel
I think Bilic is trying to
I think Bilic is trying to establish his best 11 as well as determine who should make up the squad.It's been a sharp learning curve for him ,time is not on his side and like chippy says the displays haven't been anything to write home about.DH ,I just hope, like you state, that he starts to play his best team from now on in the Europa so we can some idea of what to expect for the Arsenal game.The team has a number of new faces and it will take some time for them to gel,the sooner Bilic fields his best 11 the happier we will all be.But like you, if he expects it all to click into place against Arsenal,playing them for the first time, he will be in for a big disappointment.
Agree
2 weeks to kick off & we need our strongest side to start playing together,heres hoping that thursdays game v astra will be the start of it!Ditch nolan,jarvis,maiga,job....
i think
I think we are playing too many matches, 12 from now until the first with Arsenal are many. They would have had to cancel the friendlies and concentrate more on preparation and europe, deploy the backbone of the team for next season. I see only a mixture that does not lead to anything. I hope that in the next games it begin to delineate which team will play and sign another striker
David Gold (and I suspect
David Gold (and I suspect David Sullivan as well) has gone on record saying we will pick our strongest side on Thursday against Astra Giurgiu which probably means they have had a word with Bilic after we lost in Malta and nearly went out of the Europa League competition and told him to stop playing around and get his first 11 sorted out! It will be youngsters and fringe players against Norwich on Tuesday then and a strong side on Thursday we are led to believe?
I hope so mate, surely it's
I hope so mate, surely it's better to give what he considers to be his strongest side some competitive games before we face Arsenal
totally agree!
totally agree!
Why should the chairman have
Why should the chairman have to utter such a thing?!!!
IF its true it causes 2 issues for me.
1) They are meddling in team affairs ( which is NOT their remit).
2) They are already undermining the Manager and questioning him ( though anybody with any degree of sence would surely question anybody selecting Noble,Nolan and Jarvis)!!!!
"IF" is a very big word.
"IF" is a very big word.
Yeah, I expect us to put out
Yeah, I expect us to put out our 'first 11' on Thursday. Sakho's suspension might show us how great the need is (or is not) for another striker. But I doubt Bilic needed a word from the owners to make him aware of how important this game is.
I think thats "the whole
I think thats "the whole point" Bully.....what is his best 11?!
Of course its very early and I for 1 have very high hopes for this season and would not expect us to know EXACTLY at this stage what our best team would be (but think you could prob put 7/8 of the players that you think will start in place).
Also its going to be a long season if we can muster a wee run in the Europa League (though on the last 2 rounds performances you wouldnt bet on it) and hopefully a wee run in the domestic cups so on that front not "flogging to death" all your players at this stage is prudent.
I think my "biggest concern" is that so called fringe players (Zarate,Jarvis and Maiga) seem to have offered next to nothing and lord knows what seeing more shambolic efforts from Nolan and Noble have done for things!!!
If we had even stumbled through the games with some real encouragement that either youth or fringe players were going to be pushing hard for places I would be less fraught.
As it is THERES GOING TO BE A LOT OF PRESSURE on the new signings from the off (and we know historically about the "time to settle in" scenario)!!!!
By that time you could be out of Europe,have our usual capitulation to extremely mediocre opposition in the Carling Cup and be struggling for league points (if our goalscoring efforts we have witnessed so far are replicated)!!
Of course Payet already looks as he could be a find.
BUT I DONT WANT TO RELY ON HIM SOLEY!!!
At this stage goals are already looking as if they could be a real struggle should anything happen to Sahko (and LETS BE HONEST Carroll isnt going to feature.....any player that misses the amount of football he has and doesnt get a hard pre season under his belt IS NOT GOING TO CATCH UP so I think we should put that thought to bed immediately and think of "plan B").
I think (although not sure as I dont know much about any of them) that the new players all look as if they could be assets BUT WHO WILL THE REAL STABLE INFLUENCES in the team be to help them settle in?!
I think thats my biggest concern.
You know when its 1-1 at Stoke with 20 mins to go and you look round and see XX and XX rallying round shirt sleeves rolled up,sweat dripping off brow, finger pointing and running through a brick wall?!!
Time will tell....but I think the new players will have to adapt/perform very quickly.
your best midfielder and
your best midfielder and striker are suspended. You have some promising youngsters , new signings not yet fit, last seasons better players not yet fit, those that you know are past their sell by date but are so called seasoned pros and who should be able to beat a team of maltese part-timers. You have obligations to put out teams in preseason friendlies. Pick a starting 11 for each fixture taking into account you have the first game of the season coming up in 3 weeks time against Arsenal away with another 2 europa league games sandwiched in the middle. Who would be a manager ??
I dont think for a minute
I dont think for a minute anybody (well most) are" expecting miracles" straight away but should there not be "some sort of expectation" that you could COMFORTABLY see off teams from Andorra and Malta with maybe a little flair thrown in?!
I dont think thats a huge ask.
I think most (and assuming Bilic) has got plans for the new players and Sakho will obviously be leading our line BUT AGAIN "should we have been quite so poor" when pitted against the opposition we have been so far?!!
The" biggest bit of unrest" (certainly from me anyway) IS THE INCLUSION OF NOLAN,NOBLE and JARVIS!!!
How many games do they have to perform badly in to not be part of any Managers thoughts?!
Should we not have been very much increasing Youth players chances of gametime during these aforementioned games (and Im not talking about lumping them all together at the 1 time)!!!
Im talking about giving the young right back a game whem you have Reid,Tomkins and Cresswell playing.
Im talking giving Poyet a game when he has Kouyate beside him.
Ditto Samuelson.
I actually believe that Bilic wil be an big success for us and I also believe he will have a team which has hard work,ability flair and goalthreat in abundace once everybody is fit BUT I still question the wisdom of some of what he has done already.
Completely agree regarding
Completely agree regarding integrating the youngsters with first teamers instead of bunching them all in the same side, I think Poyet has looked decent in pre season, as for the rest, Randolph looks like a strange signing, the back four when fit will be decent, I still think midfield is our biggest problem, with Song not fit if Payet gets injured then we're either relying on youngsters to create or we're reverting back to the Noble/ Nolan combo, and I don't see us winning many games, jury is still out on Zarate, one decent game and then largely anonymous, the lad Samuelson looks a great prospect but would you chance playing him week in week out, I'm not sure he'd be ready for that, still think we need experienced players that will improve our starting 11
I think the Europa games,
I think the Europa games, because they are competitive will have helped SB sort out the good from the bad. If he was just getting a few friendlies before the season starts he might not have been so sure who his best players are. It's all down to his motivational and tactical skills. Most clubs are set up now that they can get players fit and in shape for the games ahead, it's what the manager does from there on is what counts. A club's results are going bad manager is sacked and a new manager comes in and with the same players turns the season around. It's down to the Manager and his relationship with the players. I won't be saying anything about SB until the new year is rang in. He needs that time. COYI...